Iran's Deputy Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Rastad explored ways of using trade and connectivity capacities with the Vietnamese officials.

The managing director of the Ports and Maritime Organization met Vietnamese national shipping authorities during a visit to Vietnam and discussed the trade and communications capacities of the two countries. The discussions focused on the launch of a shipping line between ports of the two countries.

Rastad also met with the Deputy Minister of Transportation during his visit to Vietnam and talked through the trade and communications capacities of the two countries on the development of port and maritime cooperation. Mr. Rastad praised the capabilities of the ports of Vietnam and the University of Marine Sciences, while expressing hope that in the future, there will be stronger ties to the corresponding sections in Iran.

The first meeting of Iran-Vietnam Maritime cooperation working group will be held in Tehran by the end of this year, said the managing director of the Ports and maritime Organization while emphasizing on the implementation of Article 15 of the Joint Shipment MoU.

Referring to port capacities and the transit role of Iran in the region, Rastad also pointed to the implementation of issues such as "supporting and setting up a shipping line between the two countries", "exploiting the academic capabilities of the two countries and establishing a link between the relevant authorities", and " facilitating financial transactions and facilitating the transfer of oil products, especially bitumen to Vietnam”

Rastad and accompanying delegation also visited Hai Phong, the biggest trade port in northern Vietnam, on the invitation of the country’s maritime officials and with the aim of boosting port and maritime cooperation. During the meeting, senior directors of the Hai Phong Port presented a report on its capacities and functions.

Reference: pmo.ir

Iran and Bulgaria have signed six Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in different fields, including ports and maritime transport, postal services, trade, meteorology, and standardization policies.

The agreements were signed during a meeting between Iran’s visiting Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mohammad Eslami with Bulgarian senior officials, including Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, in Sofia on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two sides also explored the avenues for widening cooperation in other fields such as energy, agriculture, information technologies, youth and sports, and tourism.

Borissov said that Iran is a traditional partner in the Middle East region, and Bulgaria attaches great importance to the development of its relations with that country.

The traditionally good cooperation in the area of transport should be activated, he underscored.

The Bulgarian official said his country welcomes a continuation of the discussions on the options for developing the Greece-Bulgaria-Black Sea-Georgia-Azerbaijan-Armenia-Iran transport corridor, which creates opportunities for effective and reliable freight transport between the Middle East countries and the Central and East European countries.

At this summit, Mohammad Ali Hassanzadeh as the Deputy Director of Port and Economic Affairs of the Ports and Maritime Organization conducted special talks and held joint meetings with his Bulgarian counterpart, finalizing and signing the Memorandum of Understanding on Ports and maritime Relations between the two countries.

Reference: pmo.ir

The Omani ambassador to Tehran said Sun. that the government and private sector of Oman are ready to invest in Iranian Chabahar region

Oman Ambassador to Iran Saud bin Ahmad Khalid al-Barwani made the remarks in a meeting with the managing director of Chabahar Free Zone Abdulrahim Kurdi on Sunday afternoon.

“Increasing business and economic cooperation between Oman and Iran could lead to the development of relations between the two countries,” al-Barwani said.

The ambassador further described Chabahar as the best platform for Iran-Oman relations, adding that the port can play an important role in the development of regional trade in the future.

He also attached great importance to the tourism, commercial and economic potentialityies of Chabahar, saying that the Iranian port is an attractive area in the region for investment.

The Omani diplomat expressed Oman’s readiness to implement phase 2 of Chabahr’s Shahid Beheshti port along with the passenger terminal of Shahid Kalantari Port there.

In the meeting, the managing director of Chabahar Free Zone Abdulrahim Kurdi, for his part, detailed the commercial and trade capabilities and the potentialities of Chabahar Free Zone, stressing that his organization seeks to provide high-quality services to the investors in order to play a positive role in the relations between Iran and Oman.

He further said that Iran-Oman bilateral cooperation plays a positive role in the economic development of the region, adding that the Chabahar Free Zone is ready for more industrial and agricultural investment.

He also emphasized that the talks and relations between Oman and Chabahar Free Zone must become operational.

While in Chabahar, the Omani ambassador along with his accompanying delegation visited the commercial, transit and tourist facilities of the port and the coastal region of Chabahar.

Chabahar will be key element in India's Indo-Pacific strategy that also includes Eurasia's connect with Indian Ocean Region

NEW DELHI: It was culmination of years of efforts when India Ports Global Limited Company opened its office in Chabahar and started  the operations at the Shaheed Behesti port at the Iranian city, a step that would take Delhi closer to effective connectivity link to Afghanistan, Central Asia and parts of Russia.

Iran is key link to INSTC that connects Russia to India in shortest possible time. Kazakhstan plans to connect Gujarat via Iran and Russia is looking to put in place a connectivity corridor involving India and Oman through Iran. Chabahar will be key element in India's Indo-Pacific strategy that also includes Eurasia's connect with Indian Ocean Region. Chabahar is key element in Delhi's SCO membership and a pillar of India's connectivity projects amid China's BRI. European countries and Japan are poised to complement India's efforts in Chabahar port.

"We are also seeking to develop the Chabahar Port as a gateway for onward connectivity to and from Afghanistan and Central Asia. Since last year, we have shipped about 110 thousand metric tons of much-needed wheat and 2000 metric tons of pulses from India to Afghanistan through this Port. To tap its full potential for benefit of Afghanistan, we might also need to pursue the development of a rail line from Chabahar to Zahedan at some future stage," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said at a conference early November.

India signed a short-term lease, as part of the agreement signed during the visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in February, to start interim operations for the Port. Delhi has committed $500 million for Chabahar Port complex besides $ 235 million for port expansion project. Delhi will also build 500-km-rail link between Chabahar and Zahedan in Iran which will then be extended to Zaranj in Afghanistan.

The Modi government maintains that once functional, the Chabahar Port will serve as a "growth engine" to India, Iran, Afghanistan and several Central Asian countries. Chabahar is India’s most viable gateway to Afghanistan and Central Asia with Pakistan denying India any land access to Afghanistan. Central Asian powerhouses – Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan – also view Chabahar Port as their gateway to the Indian Ocean Region. Officials here are of opinion that located some 1,000 km from Kandla and 1,400 km from Mumbai, the Chabahar port will ease sea route access for cargo, trade and business.

The first meeting of the Follow-up Committee for implementation of the trilateral Chabahar Agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran at the level of Joint Secretary/Director General was held on December 24 in the port city of Chabahar.

Positive and constructive discussions were held between the three sides on full operationalization of the Trilateral Transit Agreement for international transit & transport through the Chabahar Port. They agreed on the routes for the trade and transit corridors between the three countries, according to an MEA statement.

The three sides agreed to finalize at the earliest the Protocol to harmonize transit, roads, customs and consular matters. It was agreed to allow cargo movement at Chabahar using TIR Convention provisions.

It was decided to hold an event to promote and popularize the potential of Chabahar on February 26, 2019. Also, a study would be initiated to determine measures to make the route attractive, decrease logistic costs and pave the way for smooth operationalization of the Chabahar Agreement.